How to feed a baby Ornate?

[Yellow Bichir]

Alright here's the situation. A couple months back I bought a little baby Ornate Bichir at about 2" and since he was too small to go in the big tank with the >7" Delhezi and Senegal, and 12"+ Ropefish, we made a make-shift home for him out of a salad container and hooked it onto the big tank until he could grow enough to be released. Then, something poisoned my big tank and the little Ornate seemed to be being affected the most so we moved him over to my little 12-gallon tank. I recently bought four <2" silver dollars and put them in the big tank, which was a big mistake because the Senegal disemboweled one and injured the other (he is fine now). So I moved the remaining three dollars to the 12-gallon growout with the Ornate Bichir and a Betta and some Kuhlii Loaches. But now, the dollars eat all of the food in the tank before the little Ornate can get any.

Any suggestions on how to get the food past the dollars?

-YB

PS sorry for long read, just found it necessary to describe the situation.

 

[Sphinx070886]

More Food in the tank. I give my Silverdollars some Chichlid sticks and
the Ornates get some Sinking Pellets during the Red Hooks are Picking
the Sticks from the Surface. It works pretty good.
Try that!



Greetings from Austria

 

[spwd]

Try feeding the dollars in one area of the tank and drop the pellets into where the O sits if you can,hope this helps.

Cheers steve

 

[dbcb314]

Feed a lot or feed something the dollars may not enjoy like shrimp or something.

 

[Yellow Bichir]

I've tried all of these methods... The dollars eat ALL the food and nip my betta if he tried to eat anything. they even scavange around bottom for food that they missed. And the ornate is so slow and stupid that even if the food landed right on his nose, the dollars would eat it before he noticed it was there [that has happened]. Also, I tried feeding him a little piece of shrimp today, and he surprisingly found it before anyone, but then the dollars came and ripped at him until he let go of it and they ate it. So you see my situation. I've even tried a plastic tube. I put the food in the tube so the dollars can't get at it, and when it hits the bottom, only the bichir is small anouth to fit underneath and get it. But, since he is an idiot, i end up sitting there with my arm over the tank for an hour before he notices there's food in the water. thanks for replying anyways though.

 

[shamrock]

It's not a good idea to mix a really small ornate with aggressive eating fish-do you have another tank that you could have the ornate alone-I got my at two inches and had him in a 30 gallon-started him off on feeder guppies. Now he is 6 plus in my 240 with two oscars, a pbass, and two CKs.

 

[Yellow Bichir]

It's not a good idea to mix a really small ornate with aggressive eating fish-do you have another tank that you could have the ornate alone-I got my at two inches and had him in a 30 gallon-started him off on feeder guppies. Now he is 6 plus in my 240 with two oscars, a pbass, and two CKs.

I do have another tank, but my parents won't let me set it up. Three tanks is enough apparently...

 

[spwd]

Sounds like you have got an ornate related to my florida gar.lol !
Perhaps you need to seperate him and feed him up first .

Cheers steve